The Borland Ceilidh Band

The Borland Ceilidh Band play traditional Scottish music with a dynamism and vitality that people have come to expect from Ayrshire’s premier ceilidh band. Unlike many other ceilidh bands on the scene, The Borland Ceilidh Band sound is based around fiddles instead of accordions, offering a different sound to the night. The band have gained a considerable reputation for their fast and energetic ceilidhs, some of which have been known to go on for over 6 hours. Two of the band members, Ewin Murray (Guitar and Banjo) and John Grant (Fiddle) are previous members of popular Scottish psychobilly band “The Termites”, signed to several record labels such as Anagram Records, Cherry Red Records and laterly Crazy Love Records of Germany. This should give you an indication as to the source of the no nonsense approach to their ceilidh style.

The fiddler player John Grant wanted to get back to playing traditional music however felt that there was no-where for people in the Kilmarnock area to experience the vibrancy of the music and so, along with Ewin, created the ceilidh band. The Band set out with the intention of holding ceilidhs that were energetic without being too fast for dancers, whilst playing great sets of traditional Scottish tunes that sound at home, both on the dance floor, session and bar. The current lineup of the band is: Ewin Murray (Guitar and Banjo), John Grant (Fiddle) and Stephen Merrick (Piano and Guitar).